Connecting the heart of the performer to the audience via Bluetooth

This event is a physical presentation of Anna Pillot's research as part of the Dance MFA program. The performer engages with aerial apparatus, running, dance, fitness equipment, endurance, biometric data, and technology to create an intermedia performance experience.

Artist Statement:

"this is what I have right now. 
go, endure, fall, push, fail, fall, endure, succeed.
fail. 
laugh, cry, play by the rules.
plot synopsis: it starts with my watch and ends when your order is ready. 
it’s personal? it is personal. 
when/does it end? another time/mile/try. what i have right now. 
play it back one more time. 
your order is ready. 

anna performing aerial dance

Anna Pillot

CU Affiliation: Dance MFA Candidate

Anna Pillot, endurance artist. I wasn’t athletic growing up. I got hit in the face by a softball when I was running the bases at the 7th grade team tryout. I sprained my ankle the first day of basketball practice, didn’t make the soccer travel team because I arrived an hour late and also I wasn’t good enough. Cross country skiing was too hard and downhill skiing was too risky and I couldn’t get injured because then I wouldn’t be able to dance. I used to complain all the way to the trailhead and throw tantrums on family hikes. Are we there yet? I loved (love) rolling down hills, being up high, roller coasters, adrenaline rushes. I lean into type II fun and allow it to overlap with dance. Rejection, failure, validation, love, spite, desire are motivators. My process is connected to instinct; sometimes the connection fails. I’m friendly with technology, I mostly lean into bad ideas, though I aspire to be good idea-adjacent. As of the time of writing my heart rate is 70 BPM.

Photo by Elliot Whitehead

Brad Gallagher

Brad Gallagher's practice revolves around writing, coding, sound and new media with a focus on how computation intersects these different mediums. He has had a lifelong interest in how simple rules give rise to complex behavior; how order arises from chaos and how systems with many interacting parts exhibit self-organization. As an artist, he draws inspiration from—and directly leverages—these principles to create interactive, dynamic and emergent content. He reflects these practices back into traditional writing, creating a feedback loop of influence amongst the mediums of his work. He graduated with a BFAW from the School of The Art Institute of Chicago in May 2019.